Reports indicate that President Trump may scale back the scope of his reciprocal tariffs
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are sharply higher Monday, as easing tariff concerns lift investor sentiment. Reports from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg suggest President Donald Trump may scale back the scope of his reciprocal tariffs set for April 2, with certain nations and industries likely to be exempt. Trump also hinted at “flexibility” in the plan, which helped major indexes finish Friday in the green and sparked hopes that a full-blown trade war may still be avoided.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What put this steel stock under pressure?
- Trade policy and inflation concerns shook up Wall Street last week.
- Plus, MSTR's new offering price; LMT downgraded; and Azek acquisition.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.3 million call contracts and nearly 1.3 million put contracts exchanged on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.55, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
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MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) stock is 4.8% lower premarket today, after lowering the price of its upcoming preferred stock offering to $85 per share, down from the previously planned $100. Despite the discount, the crypto company increased the size of the sale to 8.5 million shares, aiming to raise $711.2 million. The move comes as Bitcoin trades higher. MSTR sports a 90.1% year-over-year lead.
- Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT) stock is down 2% before the bell, adding to its 9.5% year-to-date drop. The defense giant was recently downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at BofA Securities, which also slashed its price target to $485 from $685, following the company’s loss to Boeing for a key U.S. Air Force contract.
- Azek Company Inc (NYSE:AZEK) stock is up 23.5% in electronic trading, after announcing it will be acquired by James Hardie Industries for $8.75 billion in cash and stock. The deal values Azek at roughly $56.88 per share, representing a 26% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average price. Over the last 12 months, Azek is down 17.4%.
- Get ready for tons of economic data and a few notable earnings reports.
Asian Markets Juggle Tariff Talks, Political Drama
Asian bourses were scattered in Monday’s trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.9% and Shanghai Composite tacked on 0.2%, even after China’s premier Li Qiang warned of “rising instability and uncertainty” amid looming U.S. tariffs. Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.2% and South Korea’s Kospi gave back 0.4%, after Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment was turned down by the constitutional court. Hyundai’s $20 billion investment is also turning heads this morning.
European stocks are moving higher midday, boosted by the latest Trump trade rhetoric. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 and French CAC 40 were marginally higher, and the DAX was up 0.3%, the latter boosted by German business activity growing at its fastest rate in 10 months.